Moderna Museet presents Gerard Byrne's 'Film Inside an Image'

10 March 2017
News

Shot at the Biological Museum in Stockholm, the film presents a new and twisted vision of Nordic nature as seen by the Irish artist. Built in 1893, the Biological Museum was the first to use a large-scale diorama, positioning three-dimensional objects against a painted backdrop to give the illusion of animals or people in their natural habitat.

Based on the museum's setting, which features animals native to Sweden against a backdrop by wildlife painter Bruno Liljefors and lit by a single source of light from the windows in the ceiling, Byrne compares the similarities of the museum to that of a camera. At a time when film and photography were still in their infancy, visitors to the museum had an opportunity to experience the Nordic wilderness in the middle of a buzzing city.

Jielemeguvvie guvvie sjisjneli (Film inside an image) captures this setting in one unbroken track of the camera – the animals appearing as if they have paused mid-movement. The work is reminiscent of Byrne's earlier video installations, which recycle images and conversations from various media and epochs, exploring our perceptions of the contemporary world while revisiting history.